Once again we see shortsighted, selfish and uncharitable policies from politicians who are more interested in their own pocketbooks than in the welfare of the citizens they are empowered to serve. Recently, in Augusta, LD 1746 regarding the DHHS budget was passed to “save taxpayers money.” In order to save nearly $11 million, lawmakers sacrificed […]
health care
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
13.5% of Maine adults skipped medical care because they couldn’t afford it, report finds
Access to health care: Percent change of population with unmet medical needs due to cost, 2000-2010. The darker the red, the greater the shift of population unable to access healthcare. SOURCE: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Data visualization by Eric Zelz, Bangor Daily News Hit hardest were the uninsured, who were far more likely to report […]
advertisement
Posted inLetters
H. Brooks: Putting lives at risk
Is health care a “right” or is it “a service”? Do some people deserve to be healthy and others sick? Is health care a privilege? The 2010 Maine Democratic Party platform refers to health care as a “fundamental human right,” while the 2010 Maine Republican Party platform seeks to “clarify that health care is not […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Our View
Views from our online audience: Work for women, health care, flyovers and paging McDreamy
Letters to the editor have gained a lot of attention from our online audience in the past week. Donna Helwig’s letter titled “Stop Promoting Envy” saw 17 lively comments. Helwig, of Auburn, argued in part … “If (President) Obama really cared about women, he would be creating good jobs with higher wages so women would […]
Posted inLetters
Dr. E. Walworth: Embrace national health plan
Economic competition would not bring big Pharma or medical suppliers to their knees; it would just make them leaner and more efficient. As T.R. Reid points out in “The Health of America,” health insurance companies in Europe, required to be nonprofits, still vie for customers. Whenever I hear the label “socialist” applied to “Obamacare,” I […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Painkiller sales soar around US, fuel addiction
NEW YORK (AP) — Sales of the nation’s two most popular prescription painkillers have exploded in new parts of the country, an Associated Press analysis shows, worrying experts who say the push to relieve patients’ suffering is spawning an addiction epidemic. From New York’s Staten Island to Santa Fe, N.M., Drug Enforcement Administration figures show […]
Posted inOp-Eds
Thomas Page: Health care: No easy explanations
It is not that the conversations evolve around national issues on a regular basis; far from it. Why the kids are wearing sandals in the middle of January, or who needs rides and where this weekend is usually the extent of household management decisions on a regular basis. However, my intimate business associate (together, we […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Bangor psychiatric hospital to lay off 45 employees in effort to close budget gap
BANGOR — notified 45 employees Monday that their jobs will be eliminated, Superintendent Linda Abernethy announced Tuesday. In all, the hospital plans to cut 91 positions, about half of which were unfilled because of funding concerns, according to Abernethy. “We have spent the last year trying to hold every vacancy as people left or retired,” […]
Posted inOp-Eds
Mark Eves: A prescription for real change
We can better manage our health care delivery without dismantling the safety net. An ideological battle has been brewing in Augusta. It is the kind of battle that goes straight to the heart of our state’s priorities and values. For the past three months, lawmakers have been working to resolve a shortfall in the state’s […]
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Health providers gird for DHHS cuts under compromise deal
Lawmakers may have reached a bipartisan deal to close a budget gap at the Department of Health and Human Services, but health care providers are still bracing for deep cuts. Members of the Legislature’s budget committee pushed back against Gov. Paul LePage’s proposal to drop coverage and tighten eligibility for some MaineCare beneficiaries, but left […]